


School Boy Crush

by Faetori



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Barclay adopted Jake and Aubrey, Chef Barclay, M/M, More characters to be added, More tags to be added, No beta we die like illiterates, Retired FBI Agent Stern, Single Dad Barclay, Teacher Stern, single dad, single parent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-13 09:42:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21242042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faetori/pseuds/Faetori
Summary: Barclay is a single dad to two amazing kids who are sometimes assholes, and Joseph Stern is a retired FBI Agent - turned high school teacher.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first TAZ fic!  
I love Sternclay and I've been in a big mood for it lately so I thought I'd try my hand at writing for them! 
> 
> I promise I haven't abandoned by kurotsuki fic! I just needed a small break for it so I can get this out of my system.

Barclay had been having a good morning so far.

He had gotten a good night’s sleep, had woken up feeling refreshed, and being the first one awake in the house, had hot water in the shower.

He had gone downstairs after his shower to start on coffee and breakfast (regular for Aubrey, decaf for Jake), deciding on blueberry pancakes. The pancakes were almost done by the time Jake and Aubrey had dragged themselves out of bed and downstairs, both still unshowered and in their pajamas. They both sat down at the table, Barclay happily bringing them their food and coffee.

Barclay had never intended on having kids. He had only been in one serious relationship, and even that didn’t last very long. He liked kids, but never particularly saw himself as a father. But when the time came for someone to step up and take in Jake and Aubrey, Barclay didn't even hesitate to adopt them, and he never regretted that decision. His kids brought a light to his life that he never knew he had needed. They kept him busy and entertained, and he could confidently say that it was never boring at their house.

Barclay was shaken out of his thoughts by the sound of his kids calling his name, and he looked up at them expectantly.

“Uh, sorry, what was that?” Aubrey rolled her eyes good-naturedly at him. “I said, you haven’t even touched your food. Or your coffee. What’s wrong with you?”

Barclay chuckled a bit. “I’m fine, I was just thinking.”

“Yeah? Thinking about what?”

Aubrey narrowed her eyes at her brother.

“He was probably hoping you would one day learn not to talk with your mouth full!”

Jake rolled his eyes, but closed his mouth to continue chewing anyway.

“Alright guys,” Barclay started. “Finish up, you both need to get ready for school, you have to be there in an hour.” He immediately rolled his eyes when they started shoveling their breakfast into their mouths, both trying to finish before the other so they could be the first to shower.

“Kids, slow down, you’re gonna make yourselves sick. One of you can use my shower, so please take your time with your food.”

They both looked at each other for a moment before nodding and slowing down.

After breakfast they both got ready and then met Barclay back downstairs. Aubrey had on black ripped jeans with fishnet tights underneath them, paired with a red shirt proclaiming "Punk's Not Dead" on the front. She had her signature denim vest on over it with her bright red undercut styled into a pompadour. Jake, on the other hand, had on a pair of light blue joggers, a t-shirt, and a windbreaker.

“Hey,” Barclay started. “Isn’t today when your guys’ new teacher is coming?”

They both nodded in confirmation, Jake slightly freezing up at the mention of a new teacher.

Barclay raised an eyebrow at Jake, guessing there was a reason for his hesitance.

“Jake? Is there something wrong?”

“No! I mean.. Maybe? I’m just anxious about getting a new teacher. I heard some teachers say that he’s apparently super strict! What if he’s mean! Or, what if he doesn’t understand my dyslexia? What if he embarrasses me in front of everyone like Mrs. Johnson? What if-”

Barclay interrupted Jake, seeing the signs of the start of an anxiety attack.

“Hey, hey, Jake, listen. If he’s strict, we’ll find a way around it. The emails I received from your guys’ school said he was a very accomplished person. He’s rather new to teaching, but he’s apparently an amazing teacher. And hey, if something happens, you have your cell phone, and you can text me and tell me how it’s going.”

“Yeah,” Aubrey piped up. “And if he’s a dick, I’ll call him out on it! No one picks on my baby brother except me!” Aubrey ruffled Jake’s hair, causing him to yell indignantly, swatting at his sister’s hands.

"Hey, watch it! I spent a long time on my hair this morning!"

Jake’s phone dinged, causing him to dart out of Aubrey’s reach to check it. “Ooh, Jake! Is that your boyfriend?”

“Shut up, Aubrey. Hollis and Keith are here to pick us up.” Barclay handed them their lunches, wishing them both good luck at school before sending them off. He began to clean up from breakfast, hoping not to get any calls from the school today.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is set from Stern's point of view of his first class!

Joseph was anxious, to say the least. Today was his first day in his new teaching position. He had been student teaching for several years, but this was the real deal. He had his own classroom with his own students. He was excited; he felt he had finally found his true passion in teaching. He had worked for the FBI for so long and began to find the environment stifling. Many of his coworkers had been close-minded and not especially good people. He had gone into the FBI hoping to help people, only to find out just how corrupt the government truly was; so he left. 

He had worked several small jobs here and there before deciding to go back to school to get his teaching license. He had never had as much fun in the FBI as he did while teaching. While kids could be harsh, there was almost always an underlying reason as to why, and Joseph always tried his best to be open and approachable for when and if his students wanted to talk to him. 

He walked through the door in to his classroom - his  _ own _ classroom- and started to get ready for the kids' arrival in less than an hour. 

He had just finished up a meeting with the principal and a couple other teachers. The teacher he was taking over for had left for maternity leave several months ago, and had recently decided to become a stay-at-home mom. He had been told that the substitute that had been assigned was strict and not always the most kind, both to students as well as other teachers, causing several students to start acting out in class. He knew he had his work cut out for him, but he was hopeful that things would work out. 

Joseph reorganized his already-pristine desk before going to the chalkboard and writing “Mr. Stern” on it. He had debated on his students calling him that or Joseph, but his fellow teachers had vetoed that idea very quickly. They all insisted that was unprofessional and that the students wouldn’t respect him. He begged to differ, but agreed that it might be better to just go by his last name with his students. 

He began looking over his class roster for what felt like the hundredth time. The substitute had left him a very helpful roster; it had the students’ names, pictures, and where in the classroom they sat. 

He felt confident in his ability to remember their names and faces on paper, but he knew it would be different in person. 

Joseph sat down at his desk and sent out a couple emails, killing time until students started to come into the building. He stood up from his desk, needlessly straightening his clothes before going to stand outside his classroom to greet his students as they slowly filtered into the room. He did his best to greet kids by name, but refrained on the ones he wasn't sure of. 

After he was almost positive everyone was there, he walked into the classroom, shutting the door behind him. He noticed that the entire class fell silent as he walked in, as opposed to the loud talking they were all doing just a moment before. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a class quiet down so fast. Am I really that scary?” 

He smiled a bit, but it fell slightly when nobody laughed or said anything.    
  
“Alright.. well, welcome to World History and Government. My name is Mr. Stern. I know everyone hates these things, but for today, since it’s my first day, I’d like to do a little ice breaker if that’s okay with you guys. I used to hate these when I was in school, but it’s honestly a great way to get to know a class.” 

Joseph heard a couple scattered groans and smiled in amusement. 

“I know, you guys, but I promise it won’t be that bad. And listen, I’m not above bribing my students.” 

He chuckled as that got their attention. 

“I mean, it’s not a great bribe, but I’ve got a butt ton of candy that can be yours if you participate in my ice breaker. Do we have a deal?” 

One student spoke up, a skeptical look on his face. 

“You really think you can bribe a bunch of high school teenagers with candy, as if we’re children?” 

Joseph immediately spotted the student that had spoken up, his brain immediately supplying his name. 

“Ah, Keith, is it?” 

The boy nodded. 

“Well Keith, frankly, yes I do. I’m thirty-nine and I still enjoy candy as much as I did when I was a child. It’s not childish to like candy. But, then again, if you truly don’t want it, I’ll just give yours to someone else.” 

“No! I mean.. I’ll take the candy.” 

Joseph turned around toward the board to hide his smile before turning back around, moving to sit on the edge of his desk facing his kids. 

“Firstly, if you’re going to eat your candy, I’d prefer you do it while in my class. I don’t want you guys getting in trouble with your other teachers for eating candy in their classes. Now, I’d like your name as well as three facts about you. I’ll start us out.” 

Joseph thought for a moment before continuing to speak. 

“My name is Joseph Stern, I have a lot of Bigfoot memorabilia, I’m half Korean and half Italian, and I used to work for the FBI before becoming a teacher.” 

The students immediately started talking, both to him and to each other, and he quickly spoke up again. 

“And no, I will not elaborate on that last one. Sorry, guys. Alright. Who’s next?” 

No one raised their hand or spoke up for a moment, causing Stern to raise an eyebrow. 

“Guys, please don’t make me just pick one of you. You don’t like it, and I don't like doing it.” 

He looked around, getting ready to pick someone before he saw a hand go in the air. 

“Yes! I’m sorry, I don’t believe I remember your name.” 

The girl had long blonde hair, with brown coming through at the roots, tied into a side braid. She had rather pale skin, along with a lot of freckles. 

“That’s okay, I’m Dani. Uh, let’s see. I love to garden, I love herbal tea, and I really like girls. Ah, one girl in particular.” 

Joseph’s head snapped over when he heard another student yell out “hell yeah!” 

He saw - Audrey? No, Aubrey - partially out of her seat with a huge grin on her face.    
  
He laughed at her antics for a moment, throwing a piece of candy at Dani.

“Aubrey, perhaps you’d like to go next?” 

Aubrey froze in surprise at everyone’s attention suddenly being on her, but her grin quickly came back. 

“Sure! I’m Aubrey, I have a ten pound rabbit at home named Dr. Harris Bonkers PhD, I want to be a stage magician, and I’m really curious about you being an ex-fed.” 

Joseph chuckled before shaking his head, throwing another piece of candy toward Aubrey. 

“My lips are sealed on that subject, sorry. Now, who’s next?” 

They got through a couple more students before a boy with blond hair spoke up. 

“Uh.. I’m Jake, my favorite color is blue, bees are my second favorite animal, and I don’t know how to drive.” 

Joseph smiled in amusement at Jake’s answer. 

“That’s cool Jake, but why did you say your second favorite animal instead of your first favorite?” 

The boy looked around for a moment before looking back at his teacher, simply shrugging in response. 

A while later, there were only two students left, both sitting at the back of the classroom, one of them being Keith. 

“Alright, guys, you’re the only ones left. You can fight to see who gets to go last.” 

Keith looked over at the other boy - person? - and shrugged. 

“Uh, I’m Keith, I like doing stunts on my bike, I have a rottweiler at home, and I’ve been told I can be a bit of an asshole.” 

Joseph nodded, smiling at Keith before throwing him a piece of candy. 

“I think we can all be a bit of an asshole at times, but what’s important is that you know when a limit has been reached.” 

Keith nodded a bit, now avoiding Stern’s gaze. Joseph then turned his gaze toward the last student. They had shoulder-length black hair pulled back into a bun with one side of their head shaved, and they were wearing a bright yellow bomber jacket.

“Alright, bud, no one left but you.” 

He looked to be debating something, but seemed to come to a conclusion, clearing his throat before speaking.

“My name is Hollis, I’m nonbinary and use they/them pronouns, I do stunts with Keith on bikes, snowboards, pretty much anything I can get my hands on, and I like reading about serial killers. Pretty sick that you like Bigfoot; he’s pretty cool.” 

Joseph smiled, reaching behind him and jotting down Hollis’ pronouns on his roster. 

“Thanks for telling me your pronouns, Hollis. Please correct me if I get them wrong.”

Hollis nodded in confirmation, and Joseph could have sworn he heard a quiet “don’t worry, I will.” 

“Alright, guys, we only have about ten minutes left. If no one has any questions, you can all just talk amongst yourselves until the bell.”

He was happy to learn about his students, even though some of them had been rather cagey with their answers. He sat down behind his desk again, emailing his principal to let him know that the class had gone well. 

Several minutes later, Joseph jumped slightly at the sound of the bell ringing. It was extremely loud, louder than it had been at his last school. 

“Alright, guys, you don’t have any homework tonight, and we’ll get started on the real classwork tomorrow. Have a good rest of your day!” 

He smiled at the few students who said goodbye to him on their way out, and was happy that his next class was a free period. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a lot of people disagree but I always LOVED ice breakers! It's a good way to get to know a class! 
> 
> I honestly don't have this fic super fleshed out yet? I have a rough guideline but that all might change! 
> 
> I hope you're enjoying it so far, though! 
> 
> Thank you for reading, feel free to leave a comment if you'd like!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barclay goes to parent - teacher night and meets Mr. Stern

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is honestly a mess and I have absolutely no excuse for it, but I'm honestly just so tired of looking at it, so y'all just get this mediocre chapter 
> 
> Also! You've unlocked their tragic backstories

The next couple of weeks went by in a blur for Barclay. He had picked up some extra shifts at work after another chef quit, unfortunately not leaving much time at home with his kids. 

Barclay loved his job, he really did. He worked at a four star restaurant in town called Amnesty, which was owned and run by his oldest friend. He had known Madeline Cobb, or Mama, as she preferred, for well over twenty years. He was nineteen when they met, and he had her to thank for where he was now, though she begged to differ and insisted he would have gotten there with or without her help. He was kicked out of his parent’s house at eighteen, and in less than a year he blew through all of his savings and was on the brink of being homeless. He was desperate for a new job; he had lost his temper at a manager at his last job and had been fired. 

Barclay had been so angry. Angry at his parents, at his family for backing up their decision to kick him out, and at the world. He felt he was trying so hard, trying to survive, but whenever he got one step ahead he was pushed two steps back again. He became bitter, and didn’t want to try anymore. He began drinking, bribing people of age with the little money he had to buy him beer and liquor. 

Finally, Mama found him passed out drunk in a dirty alley after being mugged and robbed on his last few possessions. Mama decided to take him back to her apartment, giving him food, shelter, and compassion. After a couple days, Barclay decided he wanted to pay back her kindness in the only way he could, and got up early one morning and made breakfast for the both of them. Mama silently ate the food, and after he cleaned up she sat him down and offered him a job as a chef at her restaurant. It was a tiny restaurant at the time, nothing to write home about and only spread around by word of mouth. 

With Mama’s help, Barclay was able to get back on his feet within 6 months. He found a new apartment, stopped drinking, and found a place where he truly felt like he belonged. 

While he hated what he had to go through to get to where he was now, he wouldn’t go back and change it for the world. If it weren’t for those circumstances, he never would have met Mama, never would have gotten his job, and never would have adopted his kids. 

Speaking of his kids.. 

Barclay checked his watch, seeing that it was around the time when Aubrey and Jake usually got home from school. He hoped they would immediately start on their homework after getting home, but he highly doubted it. Barclay was lucky, he mused, that he worked under one of his closest friends. That night was parent - teacher night, and Mama was allowing Barclay to leave early so he could make it. He already knew almost all of his kids’ teachers, all except one. 

Barclay didn’t think he had ever heard his kids talk about a teacher so much. Almost every day, they came home with a new story about Mr. Stern. First, they said he used to be an FBI agent. He highly doubted that an FBI agent would leave that job to teach high school history, but his kids seemed fascinated by the idea. Then, he heard that their teacher had a coffee machine in his room that almost always had a full pot, but that he never shared. The man apparently gave candy to his kids for every time they answered a question in his class, and even if they got it wrong, he rewarded them for trying. He’d been known to get up on top of his desk to teach, sometimes sitting, other times standing, because apparently he liked to be tall, even though Aubrey and Jake had said he’s almost as tall as Barclay himself. The kids told him that while the teacher could be strict at times, he was patient and understanding. Needless to say, Barclay was wary of meeting the other man.

Barclay had exchanged a couple emails with the teacher, liking to keep his kids’ teachers updated on things happening at home. Barclay also liked making sure his kids were doing well in class; able to keep up, listening well, and following directions. Mama often teased him about being a helicopter parent, but he wanted to make sure his kids were doing well. 

They were good kids, but Barclay was the first to admit they weren’t without their faults. Aubrey had a rebellious streak a mile wide, and Jake tended to be a bit  _ too _ adventurous. 

But, Barclay conceded, they were  _ good kids _ . 

Barclay was pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of his name being called. 

“Yeah, Mama?” 

“It’s almost time for you to get out of here, hon. Finish up that dish and then go clock out.” 

She smiled warmly at him and he gave her an answering smile and nod in response. 

Then before he knew it, he was getting ready for parent - teacher night. He had showered as soon as he got home, not wanting to smell like kitchen and sweat for the first meeting with Mr. Stern. He debated dressing up a bit, but ultimately decided against it, and chose his usual jeans and flannel. 

Aubrey gave him a look when he got downstairs, raising an eyebrow at him. 

“What? Do I have something on my face?” 

“No, I just assumed you might make yourself look a little nicer, instead of your usual gay lumberjack look.” 

Barclay rolled his eyes, turning away to try and hide his chuckle. By the look on his daughter’s face though, he was unsuccessful. 

“Listen, Dad. Maybe I’m needlessly judging you. Maybe Mr. Stern is into bears.” 

She shrugged nonchalantly, causing Barclay to stare incredulously at her. 

“I-what?” 

Jake came into the room, seemingly coming out of nowhere. 

“She’s trying to set you up with Mr. Stern.” 

“I-wait-what?” 

Barclay took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment. 

“Aubrey, I’ve already told you, I don’t need you to find someone for me. You need to stop meddling with my love life.” 

Aubrey jumped off the couch, apparently forgetting about the homework on her lap, causing the papers to fall and scatter around the room. 

“I know! I know you said that, but listen! Mr. Stern is handsome for an old guy, he’s nice, and he’s weird like you!” 

Barclay stared at his daughter for a moment, before starting, “Didn’t you say he was younger than I am?” 

“Irrelevant.” 

Barclay sputtered for a moment, and began to explain again that he didn’t need his daughter setting him up on dates, but an alarm on his phone went off, signaling that it was time to go. 

“Alright, we’ll continue this when I get home. Kids, be good, do your homework, please don’t burn the house down. There’s food from work in the fridge for you, or I left some cash on the table for you if you want pizza. Text me if anything happens.” 

His kids nodded in understanding before all but pushing him out of the door. 

Barclay sighed, exasperated at his kids, before heading to his car. 

  
  


Barclay had never been more confused and frustrated. The numbered classrooms didn’t seem to follow any sort of pattern, and the map they had given him made no sense. He had never been very good at directions and knowing where to go, and it didn't help that this was possibly the most confusing set of hallways he’d ever seen. He was anxious because there weren’t any other parents in the hallway anymore; they had all managed to find their kids’ classrooms. He breathed a sigh of relief, however, when he saw “Mr. Stern” written beside a classroom door up ahead. He sped and knocked on the door before walking in. 

Suddenly, Barclay felt like  he was suddenly a student again. Everyone in the room turned to look at him, and he felt himself freeze up for a moment before smiling nervously, muttering out a quick apology and quickly finding a seat. 

After sitting down, he finally chanced a look at the teacher, only to find piercing grey eyes staring at him. 

“Thanks for joining us,” the man started. “Did you get lost? It took me a while to learn the layout of the school. I’m Joseph Stern. Which one of my kiddos do you belong to?” 

Barclay’s brain shorted out for a moment; his first thought was that this man was extremely attractive. He had high cheekbones, a sharp jawline, and had dark brown hair, almost black, with bits of grey on the sides. Bits of grey in hair made some people look older than they really were, but Barclay thought it made the man look very distinguished. 

“Ah - Aubrey and Jake, they’re mine.” 

Mr. Stern nodded, thinking for a moment. 

“I like those two, they’re good kids. But, I’m probably biased; I’ve never had a student in class I didn’t like. Anyway, as I was saying, this is my first year in my own classroom. I was a student teacher for most of last year in Huntington, but when I got a job offer here, I decided to take it.” 

Barclay could feel himself zoning in and out. He knew he needed to listen to what the man was saying, but he kept finding himself staring at the man and spacing out. He felt he got the gist of what his kids’ teacher was saying; he was going over the syllabus, how he ran his classroom, and expectations of his students and their parents. 

After what felt like mere moments, the other parents were standing up and headed to the door, and Barclay realized he had barely paid attention to a single thing that was said. 

He began to stand up to head to the next classroom as well, but stopped when someone moved in front of him. 

“Ah, if you could stay for a couple extra minutes, I’d like to speak to you about Jake and Aubrey. They both have study hall next period, so you should be fine to skip that one.” 

Barclay raised his eyebrows but nodded, curious and slightly worried about what the teacher was going to say. 

“Ah, are they in trouble? I know they can be a lot to handle, but I promise they're good kids.” 

“Oh, don’t worry,” he started. “It’s nothing like that. I agree, you’ve got some great kids, I’m just a little worried about them.” 

Barclay sat back down at one of the desks in the front, gesturing for the man to continue. 

“As I said, they’re good kids, and they’re smart too. I’m just worried that they’re not applying themselves enough. I’ve talked to their other teachers as well, and they both seem to be falling behind in their classes. Has anything been going on at home lately? I’ll admit, beyond what little I’ve heard from my colleagues, I don’t know much about them, beyond that they’ve had it rough. I know bits and pieces, but I’d rather hear it from you, if you’re willing to share on their behalf. I’d usually prefer to hear it from the kids, but from what I’ve heard, they probably don’t like talking about it much.” 

Barclay sighed, nodding in response. 

“Yeah, they’ve been through a lot. I’ve had to take on some extra hours at work lately due to one of my coworkers leaving, so I haven’t really been at home as much as I usually am, and I know that’s probably affected them both a bit. And as for their past, it - they had a rough childhood. Their birth parents died when they were one and two years old, and they were in the foster system for almost four years before another couple took them in. They had several foster families that were pretty abusive toward them before that, though. Because of some blunt force trauma that he took to the head, Jake has the occasional seizure, but we’ve mostly gotten that under control with the help of medication. Aubrey was never injured as badly as that, but she was older so she remembers more of it, causing her to have more mental trauma from it all. I met Jake and Aubrey’s parents through work. Their dad was a waiter and their mom was back in the kitchen with me, down at Amnesty on Main Street. They didn’t always have enough money for sitters, so the kids would come hang out at the restaurant whenever both parents were working, and I got to know the kids pretty well during that time. I’ve always liked kids, and I was always happy to sit with them on my breaks or when it was slow, and sometimes when I wasn’t working, I would offer to babysit for them.” 

Barclay sighed. He hadn’t talked about this in a while; he hadn’t needed to. Of course he talked about it sometimes in the therapy he went to every other week, but his therapist already knew the whole story. 

“After a couple years of knowing the family, their parents, John and Linda, uh.. they were in an accident. They were out late, driving home from work to come get the kids from my place. Some idiot had been drinking and decided he was fine to drive.” 

Barclay clenched his fists. He felt so angry every time he talked about this part. 

“The drunk driver lost control of the car and slammed into them while on a bridge. Their car went through the barrier and into the water. The doctors think they were killed on impact, so they probably didn’t suffer.” 

Barclay cleared his throat. 

“Sorry, uh, that’s probably more than you needed to know.” 

Stern had been silent up until that point, mostly just nodding in response, not wanting to interrupt the other man. 

“No, I- thank you for telling me. I can’t even begin to imagine the trauma those kids must have from all that. Ah, if I may ask, how did you come to take them in?” 

Barclay nodded, and began to speak again. 

“Well, we knew that one of their only options at that point was going back into the foster system, and nobody at Amnesty wanted that for them. So all of the employees at the restaurant had a meeting, first alone, and then with the kids’ social worker. We talked about options, like the possibility of one of us taking in the kids, at least for a little while. I ended up taking them in, and it ended up being permanent.” 

Stern nodded and hummed thoughtfully, looking down at the papers in front of him for a moment before looking back up at Barclay. 

“What I’m getting from this, and you may have already guessed this, is that they started having more behavior problems since you’ve started picking up more shifts at work. Is that a possibility, and have you noticed this at home?” 

Barclay nodded, causing Stern to continue talking. 

“Now, I’m in no way a psychiatrist, but my guess is that they’re more anxious about you being away from home more than usual, and are acting out because of it. Obviously you can’t just take off from your job, so we need to figure out a way for them to both feel more comfortable  _ and _ to be able to catch up on their classes. I don’t know if you’d be interested, but I’d be happy to tutor them to try and get them caught up on their classwork, and I’m sure I can pull some strings; help them to get in missing or late assignments, retake some tests, and maybe be able to keep them caught up on their work. I’m sorry if I’m overstepping here, and I mean no disrespect toward you, in any way.” 

Barclay thought for a moment about what the other man had said. 

“I agree with you, in that may be the reason they’ve been acting out. I guess I didn’t consider that it could all be linked to me being away from home more than the norm. We used to have a tutor for Jake, but I didn’t think he was really benefiting from it. If you believe that you can make a difference and help them to stay on top of things, I’m willing to try it. I know Jake and Aubrey really enjoy having you as a teacher, and I think, or hope, that they’d be willing to try it as well.” 

The teacher smiled and nodded in confirmation. 

“Great!” 

The two men discussed the details for a bit before it was time for Barclay to move onto his kids’ next classroom. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the ending being weird, like I said at the beginning, I'm tired of this chapter. I feel like it dragged on for a while. I may eventually fix it up, but today is not that day


End file.
